<p>France was gripped by fresh political turmoil on Wednesday as nationwide protests erupted over French President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership choices and austerity plans, coinciding with the swearing-in of Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister. Authorities said more than 250 people were arrested during the day-long unrest.</p>
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-media-max-width=”560″>
<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>🚨<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BREAKING</a>: At this time, absolute chaos is erupting across France as thousands of protesters flood the streets, clashing with police and rioting in opposition to the government’s economic policies. <a href=”https://t.co/9PG9GDW0hy”>pic.twitter.com/9PG9GDW0hy</a></p>
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) <a href=”https://twitter.com/rawsalerts/status/1965692747979059524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<h3><strong>France Protests: Leadership Turmoil Fuels Anger</strong></h3>
<p>The protests, carried out under the banner “Block Everything,” were triggered by Macron’s appointment of Lecornu, a close ally and former defence minister, following the ouster of French Prime Minister François Bayrou. Bayrou had lost a confidence vote in parliament earlier this week after pushing for €44 billion in spending cuts and even suggesting the abolition of public holidays — proposals widely criticised as unfair to wage earners and pensioners.</p>
<p>Florent, a demonstrator in Lyon, told news agency AFP the decision to name Lecornu was a “slap in the face.” He added: “We need change.”</p>
<p>A Paris protester, Aglawen Vega, a nurse and union delegate, told news agency AP: “We’re governed by robbers. People are suffering, are finding it harder and harder to last out the month, to feed themselves. We’re becoming an impoverished nation.”</p>
<p>Chloe, a 25-year-old student in Toulouse, added: “None of this is OK. The working class suffers the most. There could be a better way.”</p>
<h3><strong>‘Macron Is the Problem’: Protester Says</strong></h3>
<p>“It’s the same shit, it’s the same, it’s Macron who’s the problem, not the ministers,” said Fred, a representative for the RATP public transport branch of the CGT union, speaking at a protest in Paris, as quoted by news agency Reuters. “He has to go.”</p>
<p>For many on the streets, Macron’s recent political manoeuvres have deepened disillusionment. “I was expecting either a dissolution (of parliament) or a left-wing prime minister and we have neither, it’s frustrating,” said 18-year-old student Lisa Venier, who joined a rally near the Gare du Nord.</p>
<p>Protesters said the unrest is fuelled by growing anger over austerity measures, particularly the €44 billion spending cuts proposed by François Bayrou before he was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote.</p>
<p>“Bayrou was ousted, (now) his policies must be eliminated,” Paris teacher Christophe Lalande said, calling for more investment in schools and hospitals.</p>
<p>Union leaders echoed this sentiment. “This day is a message to all the workers of this country: that there is no resignation, the fight continues,” unionist Amar Lagha told demonstrators, as per Reuters.</p>
<h3><strong>A Movement Without Leaders</strong></h3>
<p>Researchers and officials told Reuters that the “Block Everything” movement initially surfaced online in May among right-wing groups but has since been absorbed by left-wing and far-left activists. With no centralised leadership, it has grown into a broad expression of discontent against what protesters describe as a “dysfunctional ruling elite” pushing painful austerity measures.</p>
<h3><strong>France Protests: </strong><strong>Heavy Police Deployment, Clashes In Paris</strong></h3>
<p>According to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, some 80,000 police officers were mobilised nationwide to contain the unrest. In Paris, demonstrators piled up rubbish bins to form barricades, blocked roads and schools, and clashed with riot police, who used tear gas to disperse crowds.</p>
<p>By mid-morning, Paris police reported 159 arrests, with around 100 more detentions in other parts of the country, AP reported. Retailleau confirmed that a bus was set on fire in Rennes and that rail services were disrupted in the southwest due to fire damage to electrical cables.</p>
<h3><strong>France Protests: </strong><strong>Echoes Of Yellow Vest Movement </strong></h3>
<p>The decentralised protests, which spread from Marseille and Lyon to Nantes, Rennes, Lille and Caen, were reminiscent of the Yellow Vest movement of 2018–2019. Those protests, like Wednesday’s demonstrations, were fuelled by economic discontent and anger at Macron’s governance. It began in 2018 as anger over fuel price hikes quickly escalated into a wider revolt against Macron’s economic reforms — a parallel that protesters and analysts alike are drawing now.</p>
<p>Protester Vega opined that the agitation has the makings of a broad social movement and could even lead to revolution.</p>
<h3><strong>France Protests: </strong><strong>A Rocky Start for Lecornu</strong></h3>
<p>Lecornu, 39, officially took office at midday, becoming Macron’s seventh prime minister since 2017 — and the third within the past year. He pledged on X to pursue “political and institutional stability for the unity of the country.”</p>
<p>But with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party already tabling a no-confidence motion, Lecornu faces a steep challenge in passing the 2026 budget and stabilising Macron’s fragile minority government.</p>
<p>Though Wednesday’s mobilisation fell short of its promise to “Block Everything,” transport and air traffic were disrupted in several cities, including Paris, Lille, Caen, Grenoble, and Marseille. Some Parisians, however, criticised the extent of the disruption. “It’s a bit excessive,” said Bertrand Rivard, an accounting worker, as per AP. “We live in a democracy and the people should not block the country because the government doesn’t take the right decisions.”</p>
<p>As France battles mounting debt, discontent with Macron’s leadership, and a fractured parliament since last year’s snap legislative elections, Lecornu faces what analysts describe as a baptism of fire. </p>
World
Why France Is Protesting: Leadership Crisis Sparks ‘Block Everything’ Unrest, 250 Arrested
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